Additional Context: This information was collected as part of The Aid Report's original feature story, "'I had no choice but to go abroad': US aid cuts hit Nepal’s farmers." Reporter Yam Kumari Kandel looked into the effects of the termination of USAID's agricultural initiative Feed the Future on the lives of rural farming communities. This observation is part of the story of Bhagirathi Khadka, a farmer in a village in Rapti-Sonari Rural Municipality, Lumbini Province.

Feed the Future was the U.S. government's flagship global food security initiative, working to raise farm incomes and strengthen supply chains globally. Related programs first began in Nepal in 2013. The program mentioned started in 2023 and was supposed to contiue through 2028 with $24.5 million expected over the life of the project. The program provided farmers with mentorship related to agricultural techniques and machinery, as well as subsidies for the production of certain goods such as maize. For maize farmers, like Khadka, who relied on U.S. technical support for stable yields and subsidies, the cuts have upended income stability and livelihoods.

Her husband's move abroad shows that the cancelled program has played on the very gender dynamics it meant to address. Many women in this region have largely been left in charge of rural work, including agriculture, as about 1.8 million Nepali men have moved abroad, likely as labor migrants.

Source: Devex